Culinary Bliss

Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:57:00 +0000

It's Thursday and that means I have some great posts to share about consuming less and producing more. Check out this week's featured posts and link up!

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

We really enjoy reading your posts each week! Featured post bloggers, please grab the badge above and display it on your site! Link it to one of the host blogs' posts for the specific week that you were featured. Here are our picks from last week's submissions. Thanks to all who participated -- it is always hard to choose!

1. How to Rescue (Refurbish) a Cast Iron Skillet by Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity. This is a great picture tutorial on getting rid of rust on cast iron skillets. Bookmark or pin it for a later resource.

2. Herbal Multivitamin Tincture by Modern Alternative Mama. Kate shares a recipe for an herbal alternative to a vitamin supplement.

3. Herbs for cooking: Dill by The Simple Life Journal. "From the Garden to the Kitchen to the Pot of Stew"

Eleanor's Birth Story

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:52:00 +0000

Happy Thursday, everybody!
Hope you are doing well. Things here have settled into a nice routine along with some extra fun here and there. There's been a little chess.

We've made some innovations with quinoa.

And Razi has become a bit of a babysitter.

I went on my first postpartum run (yes almost two full months after being cleared for exercise.) and it was a breeze, though my abs are sore.

Today, I'm going to tell you how our little girl got from here

to here.

But I'm going to do it after the jump. Birth stories are the very essence of TMI, and if that's not your kind of thing, please scroll on down and check out my last post about tortilla chips (which are SO good) or check out thekitchn, if you want something fun and food related to read.

I've had this post rolling around in my brain for weeks now. At first I debated about posting it at all, given that this is a food blog, but I have decided that I think it's important to do so. It's first important to me because there's something very therapeutic about sharing my birth story, something that helps me understand and contextualize the experience. (I also don't really remember it that well. Isn't that incredible? Birth amnesia is REAL.)

The second reason I want to share my birth story is that I think that conversations like this one (and like that of the mastitis I was unlucky enough to suffer) are important to have. There is an overwhelming amount of negativity surrounding birth in American culture, and it's something that we often don't talk about with our friends and family. (There were significant parts of both of my sisters' birth experiences, some of which were absolutely shocking, that I had no idea about until I started preparing for Eleanor's birth.) For some reason, it's something we just don't talk about that much, and I think that needs to change.

I was very lucky to have an easy pregnancy. I felt good and managed to stay very active, continuing to run and do yoga well into my third trimester. Other than some mild edema in the last few weeks, I had absolutely no negative side effects of pregnancy, aside from major sugar cravings.

I was completely prepared to stay pregnant for the full 42 weeks. We were in no hurry to get her out, and other than my swollen feet, I felt remarkably good and could have stayed pregnant for much longer.

When I was 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant, we planted some bulbs in the front yard. As usual, I had crammed my day full of activity and we were outside digging and watering until well after dark. We went inside and headed to bed around 11. (Note to pregnant people: go to bed early.)

I woke up around 1 a.m. and realized that either I had peed my pants or my water had broken without me realizing it. There was no huge gush like in the movies, so we weren't even sure that it was my water. (The fact that I was 39 weeks pregnant should have been a strong hint, but denial is a powerful thing.)

We went into the hospital after taking our time to shower and pack up. When we got there we were checked in to triage and baby girl was monitored for a while while I tried in vain to sleep. She was a little upset about having her comfy water sack removed and we had to stay in triage until her heart rate slowed down a bit.

We were then moved into our room in labor and delivery. It was clear at this point that I was still not in labor. This sucked. I thought that as soon as my water broke contractions would begin, but no labor pattern emerged in spite of some major effort on my part for a few hours. My efforts produced contractions but nothing that could be called labor.
We had spent my entire pregnancy preparing for an unmedicated, unaugmented birth, but it became clear that I was just not going into labor on my own.
I was told that I was free to continue to keep trying to get myself into labor on my own but that it was unlikely, and that we were of course at a risk of infection since my water had broken. We made the decision to accept pitocin, synthetic oxytocin, the hormone that stimulates uterine contractions.
I confess; I cried. I had a small breakdown in our room, so upset that my body wasn't doing what I thought it should, feeling like I wasn't going to get the chance to let my body labor the way I had expected it to. (I was also upset at how unlucky I felt. Only around 10% of women experience a rupture of their membranes before they're in labor. It was a fear I'd had throughout my pregnancy, especially when a friend of mine experienced it and ended up with a c-section.) I was very nervous about my ability to labor without pain medication because I had heard how terrible contractions on pitocin would be, and that being dilated by means of the baby's head instead of the bag of waters could be more painful.
I am so thankful for the amazing nurse who was taking care of me at that point. When we decided to start the pitocin I was clearly very upset and afraid that it would lead to further interventions, especially because I'd heard that hospitals give a time limit for births that begin with ruptured membranes since the risk for infection is so much higher. But this nurse looked me in the eyes and promised me that I was under no time constraints and assured me that what she and everyone else there wanted for me was the birth I had in mind and they would do everything they could to help us get there. I have a very vivid memory of her looking at me deeply and feeling so comforted and cared for at a time when I really needed it.
I know every pregnant woman worries so much about the doctor or midwife that they choose, but truthfully it's the nurses who are with you throughout labor and delivery, and who affect your birth most deeply, in my experience. We got very lucky and had three nurses who were absolutely fantastic.
We started the pit drip around 7:30 a.m.. This was somewhat frustrating because I had to have an IV in my arm and continuous monitoring, more things that I had not envisioned for myself, but they turned out to be no problem at all. I was still entirely mobile, including having the freedom to labor in the tub.
Labor got going around 9 a.m. and I settled into the work, spending a lot of my time bent over the birth ball on the back of the bed.

Having something to focus on, and really feeling like I was in labor, erased all the issues I had been dealing with. I was ready to get this done. The nurses administered the pitocin very judiciously, starting at the lowest possible dose and only using as much as I needed. For those who know, they never set the drip above 10, which is quite low. Luckily, my body responded very favorably to the induction.

After a few hours things were starting to get tough. I was getting tired and wasn't sure if I'd made any progress. (The friend I mentioned above who started in the same situation as I did labored with pitocin for hours only to find out she had made 0 progress the entire time.) I was afraid to do so, but I asked to be checked for progress. This was my first cervical check ever. The midwife came and told me that I was 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced. (Sitting on the bed to be checked was the worst! I was only comfortable moving around.) This was great news. It gave me a surge of energy, and I felt like I was going to be able to keep going knowing this.

At that point she suggested I try the tub. I was working quite hard at this point and decided it was time to call our doula. (A doula is a birth assistant. She deals with non-medical support before, during, and after labor. My doula is an expert in birth movement for hospital births.)

She arrived and I was in the tub. She quickly came in and set a great mood in the bathroom for me, with lavender essential oils and calming music. While I labored in the tub, she approached me and said that a birth photographer had missed a birth next door and wanted to know if we'd be interested in having our birth photographed gratis so the photographer could build her portfolio. Between contractions I said "sure" and didn't think about the photographer for the rest of the day. I knew that she was there, but I barely noticed her. (In fact, I introduced myself to her after Eleanor came out.) While a birth photographer is something I would have never thought of asking for, the photos of the birth are absolutely priceless and I feel SO lucky that she happened to join us that day. We now have beautiful photographs these important moments to cherish and share with E when she grows up.

The last part of this stage of labor was difficult. The contractions were intense and my husband and doula talked me through each one. They helped me stay relaxed through visualizations, more lavender oil, and calming touch on my forehead where I hold my tension.

We prepared for the birth by taking Bradley Method classes which taught us that complete relaxation between contractions would help conserve energy. I focused on taking slow deep breaths. I did do some vocalizing, but it was very low and quiet. Before I knew it, I was in transition. (A mere 2 hours after that check putting me at a 5!) I was in first stage labor only for around 7 hours.

Luckily, transition was not the nightmare I'd expected. While my contractions were intense, I was completely and utterly relaxed between them. In fact, I think I lost consciousness. I remember knowing that there were other people in the room, but I was entirely focused inward.

Then, it was time to push. Initially it felt so much better than first stage labor. I had something to do, something to put my energy into other than just riding out the pain. And this was my doula's specialty: helping me move around to get the baby out as quickly as possible. My husband took this panorama between contractions. I am holding on to the squat bar, my doula and the nurse are watching, and the photographer is in the background. I think you can see on everyone's faces what kind of an environment it was. Everything was very calm and quiet.

So I pushed. And pushed and pushed and pushed. I pushed everywhere in that room. My doula was my guidance at this point, telling me what to do, which was exactly what I needed. Without her help at this stage in my labor, I think I would have very likely ended up with a c-section. My midwife came to check me after 2 hours of pushing and said I still had a long way to go. Because they knew we weren't interested in interventions, the staff let me, my husband, and our doula work quietly on our own. I have never worked harder in my entire life. I was dripping sweat and shaking from all the effort. Something was keeping me from making it to the final part of labor. We think baby had her hand up next to her face, which was making it incredibly difficult to move her down.
After 4.5 hours of pushing, I was offered vacuum assistance to get her out. Basically, when the baby is coming out, each push gets them a little further but they slide back. The vacuum is a soft cup that helps keep baby from sliding back with each push.
We consented to the vacuum because I just wasn't confident that I could push her out on my own. Going through labor is the hardest thing I've ever done, and I did it all on essentially no sleep since my water broke so early. Within two or three contractions of consenting, the room turned into an operating room and was filled with OBs. (Frankly I have no idea how many people were there. I was just focused on the great doctor who was working with me.)
They told me I had a chance with the vacuum but if it didn't work they'd have to give me an emergency c-section, so I had to make it count. I vividly remember the pause leading up to that contraction. I was so exhausted, so ready to meet her. My contractions came a couple minutes apart throughout labor, but they had become more difficult to feel in the pushing stage. I wanted to be sure that I didn't try to push until I really felt it start to peak. Those quiet two minutes felt like hours. The contraction came, I started pushing, and with a whole room of people cheering me on, I birthed our daughter.
She was perfectly healthy when she came out, but she didn't cry. She was just plain happy. She was so incredibly alert, watching everything around her, staring at me. Her demeanor might just be a part of her personality, but it also may be attributed to the fact that I had no pain medication throughout the labor. I am very glad I did, because if I'd gotten an epidural, I would have been bound to the bed. If I hadn't done all that moving and pushing, I'm not sure the vacuum would have been an option. Her apgar scores were fantastic and she was returned to me within a few minutes and didn't leave my side after that.
The third stage of my labor, delivering the placenta, also came with complications. My placenta didn't fully detach. I accepted pain medication on the advice of my doula and midwife and the obstetrician removed the placenta. It was by far the most painful part of my labor, and I was thankful to be in the hospital when it happened.
We were given as much time as we needed to quietly stay in the labor and delivery room and soak in our new baby. I kept looking around, feeling like what had just happened to me was a dream. I couldn't believe that she was finally here.

Then we were moved to the mother and baby unit. The rest of our stay at the hospital was pleasant and we took full advantage of all the help they had to offer, but we were so ready to go home when the time came..
For us, parenting has been a process of getting to know our baby, and her getting to know us.
We've practiced breastfeeding in public for the fresh air.

Celebrating her firsts.

And trying our best to still enjoy the finer things in life while taking care of her.

Truthfully, it's the most fun I have ever had.

Thank you for reading my birth story. I would be honored to hear yours, on your blog or to my email.

Homemade Baked Chili Lime Tortilla Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:59:00 +0000

Things around here have been pretty great these days. Eleanor has been smiley and active.

And she got to meet up again with her birthday buddy Bernie. These two were born around 15 hours apart, and now they're lucky enough to live in the same city! (And I promise they both wear pants often.)

Simple and fast dinners have been the rule lately. Anything that doesn't require much hands on time is perfect, and bonus points if it's not totally terrible for you. (One family can only eat so much mac and cheese.)

We had a package of corn tortillas left in the fridge from tacos carnitas last weekend and I thought it'd be easy to bake the tortillas into chips. These chips turned out so well that we've made them again a few times. They bake up in 10 minutes and are a great healthier alternative to fried chips. You can make as many or as few as you want. The chili and lime make them extra special and complement the flavors of a simple guacamole or as the basis for nachos.

If you were serving chili, making thin strips instead would serve as a great crunchy topping.

Baked Chili Lime Tortilla Chips

each tortilla makes 8 chips

corn tortillas, cut into halves, then quarters, then eighths

oil in a sprayer (you can use a brush if you don't spray oil)

chili powder

fresh lime

salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 350. First spray the cut tortillas lightly with oil on one side and add salt and pepper. I used fine grain sea salt.

Add your chili powder. More if you like it hot.

I found the easiest way to get the lime flavor was to squeeze a drop of juice right out of the slice onto each chip.

Flip the slices and repeat.
Bake on each side for 5-6 minutes so they brown just slightly. Do NOT over bake. Serve warm.

Excellent with an avocado, lime juice, shallots, salt, pepper, and a little salsa.

Or as the bed of the world's best nachos with slow-cooked pork from the Stamps Family Farm.

Yum. Try them, won't you? I'd love to hear any flavor combinations you come up with.
I baked up some granola this week, too. There's always this moment when I'm drizzling the honey into the bowl when I just take a deep whiff of the cinnamon and cocoa and think "Man I love my job".

Ellie's birth story coming soon. Hope you're well out there.

Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Greetings all! In case you missed it, I posted a quick curry down below and threw in a couple Ellie pictures, since I knew I'd get in trouble if I didn't.
It's Thursday and that means I, along with these other ladies:
Wardeh at Gnowfglins
and Diana at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa
host a blog hop emphasizing consuming less and producing more. Check out last week's picks and this week's submissions, and add your own ideas.

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

1. Homestead Decor: DIY Chicken Wire Frame by Prairie Homestead. A totally cute rustic re-do for an old frame!

2. Trusting a Plan... or how to make needle felted coasters by A Seed Inspired. Not only a tutorial on how to make needle felted coasters, but lovely insights into how God leads us according to His plan.

3. Planning to Preserve in the Coming Year - Part 1 of 3 by Foy Update. Foy shares her preserving plans for this coming year and encouragement for others to do the same.

Weeknight Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:10:00 +0000

Gosh I've missed you guys.
Things around here have been intense. I'm back at work (I know, are you tired of hearing that yet?) Ellie is still very irregular in her schedule (well, for me. She's a peach for the babysitter.) and I somehow lost the cable to my DSLR.
I've been struggling to get into my new weekday routine, which includes getting behind the wheel daily for the first time in my adult life, and to get dinner on the table each night. I've managed to do a lot of cooking, some photographing, but no blogging.
I'm planning to write down Eleanor's birth story the next time I sit down here, but until then, I thought I'd share the quick curry we made this week. It came together so easily and helps me get in my goal of daily greens.

Weeknight Curry
2 tbsp. butter (or oil if you want the recipe to be vegan)
3 leaves of chard
10-15 b sized potatoes (I used the ones I canned last year)
1 sweet potato
1 onion
1 each yellow and green squash
1 can coconut milk
4-6 tsp. red curry paste
4-6 tsp. curry powder
3-5 c. water or stock
salt and pepper
quinoa or rice to serve

Get your quinoa or rice going while you throw the curry together. To cook quinoa, rinse thoroughly first. Combine two parts water or stock and one part quinoa. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

In the bottom of a dutch oven or thick bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add your curry paste and powder. The paste can be a little spicy, so add less at first if you don't like hot food. You can add more to the broth later.

Stir. Your kitchen should smell pretty great right now.

Add your sliced onion and stir to coat with the seasoned butter.

Add the sweet potatoes, cut into small pieces. The smaller you cut them the quicker they will cook. If you're using raw potatoes, add them here, too. My canned potatoes were cooked through so I didn't add them until the end.

Cook the sweet potato until it's starting to soften, around 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, chopped into large pieces.

Stir to coat everything in your spices. Immediately add your coconut milk and enough liquid to cover. Stock will add flavor but water is fine.

Simmer until your potatoes are cooked through. Then use a masher to mash some of the potatoes while you continue to cook over medium. Leave most of the potatoes unmashed so the curry still has texture. Continue to cook while the mixture thickens.

Taste here. Once it's to your liking for seasoning and texture, add the chard, shredded.

Remove from heat and stir in the chard.

Serve hot.

Easy. Soul and house warming.

Along with simple dinners, I've been making some other things, too, like this ring sling that I sewed with my mother. I used this tutorial as a rough guide. It's great and Ellie loves it.

Ellie's been hangin' out with some buddies. (I swear she is thisclose to giggling. So far we just have big grins.)

Droppin' her paci.

Shoving both hands in her mouth whenever possible.

Practicing tummy time.

She's been stylin', too.

We've had scrambled eggs about three times a week, sometimes with bacon and sourdough toast.

Until next time, I'll be back soon, so try to stay warm, ok?

Two Minutes with Eleanor

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Happy Friday!

Resolutions, Traditions, SLT, and Kale with Quick Pickled Shallots

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:42:00 +0000

I have barely had a chance to sit down at the computer this week because this little lady has been having trouble sleeping for more than 30 minutes at a time.

We have learned that if she doesn't get proper sleep she turns into a crazy person. So we've been working very hard on naps, especially since she's going to have to adjust to taking them at a new place when she goes to the babysitter starting Monday. (Sad.) When she doesn't get good sleep, she will be totally normal for a few minutes and then scream until she can manage to calm down. She did this over the holidays, and again when my parents visited last week. Thankfully Nana and Papa have a good sense of humor.

That Nana and Papa made a trip to Ikea for Christmas and Ellie got this sweet netting to hang over her bird mobile. Don't let this photo fool you though, she pretty much never sleeps in her crib.

We spent New Year's Eve in with the little one, though we did manage to stay up until midnight and toast the new year. The next day we had a brunch at our house, which has become our new tradition. We squeeze as many sweet friends into our house as we can and we all eat the best brunch foods and drink mimosas and bloody marys. Guests brought fruit and flowers! It was just lovely. I made the same cinnamon rolls as last year.

We don't mess around with the marys.

Will cooked everything. I had a list of stuff for him to do when he walked in and he executed it all perfectly and did some of his own stuff that far outshone mine. (Candied bacon, for example. Oh man.)

This is about half the group, and as you can see, we were bustin' out of the house.

The brunch had me thinking about what I want to be different about 2012. There are some pretty obvious things, like being a mother, that will completely change the next year of my life. I've decided to make some specific resolutions for this year which illustrate general goals that I have.
1) Eat something green and leafy every day. Even if it's just a salad, I plan to eat a green leafy vegetable daily in 2012. Expect to see even more greens on this blog because I need new ideas to make them delicious.
2) Run or do yoga 3-5 times a week. I ran well into my third trimester but haven't done either of my favorite forms of exercise since the baby was born. Both of these are, for me, as much mental as they are physical, and making the time to take care of myself is something I need to work really hard on. Motherhood is teaching me that I need to make an effort to spend time on myself, and this specific goal will help me do that.
3) Set up the music studio in the basement and record some tunes. My husband has amassed a lot of equipment and recording together is something we've been talking about for years. This is the time to make it happen.
4) Wear red lipstick. Ok, I know this sounds silly, but it gets at my desire to become a little bit braver this year. Growing up, lipstick always symbolized glamour and adultness to me, and until now, every time I've put it on I have felt like a little girl playing with her mother's makeup. Now I'm the mother, and have realized that wearing something so bold is much more a matter of attitude than anything objective. I might bust out the cowboy boots, too.

To practice number four in the safety of my living room, I tried it out wearing this lipstick. Ellie liked it!
To work on number four, I made an easy kale dish last night with my favorite kind of kale, lacinato, bacon, and quick pickled shallots, which we've been eating on everything lately.
Soaking onions in vinegar makes them must more palatable and gets rid of that raw heat they have. Shallots are subtler and more flavorful than onions and pickling them makes them the perfect raw crunch to put on top of lots of dishes. (We especially love them on tacos.)

This style of cooking works for any greens you've got and this recipe makes enough for 1-2 people.

Begin by making the quick pickled shallots. Thinly slice a shallot.

Put it into a bowl and cover with 1 part water and 1 part apple cider vinegar. Add a squirt of honey, hefty grind of fresh pepper, and a good pinch of salt. If you want, add some fresh herbs. Let this sit at room temp or in the fridge until everything else is ready.

Start the kale with 2-3 pieces of bacon, chopped, in a hot pan. Brown, remove and drain the bacon on a paper towel, and pour off all but 1 tbsp. of the rendered fat.

Meanwhile, prep your kale by removing the thick stalks. I used to spend a bunch of time cutting the leaves off or ripping them piece by piece, but I discovered that you can easily pull the leaves off the stem like this.

Just pull.

Heat up three cloves of thinly sliced garlic just until you can smell them.

Then add your greens (I used half a bunch of lacinato for one serving) along with

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. water or stock
a splash of tamari (or soy sauce. I use tamari because it doesn't have any extra preservatives.)
black pepper

Stir and let the kale steam and liquid reduce.

Pull the kale off heat once it's bright green. I let this batch go a little too long, thanks to a special screaming baby.
Once you pull it off heat add a splash of sesame oil. Check for seasoning before serving.

Serve warm with the cold pickled shallots on top. Some toasted sesame seeds would be excellent on top.

Another plan I have for the new year is to start writing more personal posts here. Some of you have noticed the tab at the top labeled "family". I plan to start filling it with posts about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Since these things aren't so much about food, I'll be making them posts with a jump so you'll have to click through if you want to read them. (And if you don't want to read them, you can just scroll on by.) The first post I have planned is about childbirth education and I hope to tell Eleanor's birth story. If that's your thing, keep an eye out!

Until then, I'd love to hear what you're planning for the new year. Do you have big resolutions?

Finally, it's Simple Lives Thursday! If you resolved to consume less and produce more, this blog hop is full of great ideas for you to get started. There are some seriously smart posts down there, so check them out and link up your own!

Announcement... please re-read the simple guidelines for submission (below) so you can be sure your post matches the spirit and theme of this blog hop. Please do not submit giveaway posts. Also, please remember to link your post to one of the host blogs!

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

1. 12 Easy Steps to be Frugal and Green by Our Heavenly Homestead. Maria shares a great list to starting your journey on a simple and frugal life.

2. Sourdough Starters and Homemade Tortillas by The Elliott Homestead. A great tutorial on starting a sourdough starter and making your own tortillas at home.

3. A Christmas Homebirth by Simplify, Live, Love. Michelle shares about her 4th birth at home, a water birth. A lovely story of a gentle birth with the snow falling outside!

4. Vintage Blankie Baby Quilt by Simply Homemaking. Make a small blanket for a new baby out of vintage sheets and vintage hankies. It takes just a few hours!

These are three simple guidelines for participation:

1. If linking real, traditional and simple recipes, please make sure all ingredients used are whole -- such as whole grains, vegetables, legumes, meats, even sugar. In order to keep the integrity of "nourishing" food, we will delete any recipes that utilize processed, boxed foods. We are definitely not going to be ingredient policemen! But, please note that this is a hop hosted by advocates of the real, local and sustainable food movements.

2. Please link your posts back to one of the hosting blogs. This is a common blog hop courtesy. This link helps build the Simple Lives Thursday community by sending your readers to all of the other participants' posts. We all end up sharing and learning from each other.

3. No giveaway away or otherwise primarily advertising oriented posts. Keep your topics to fit our simple living theme of "consume more, produce less." We will delete posts that don't fit.

Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:02:00 +0000

I have been lucky enough to spend this whole day with friends and Ellie, and can't bear the thought of spending another moment plugged in to the computer, so I'm going to let the fantastic contributors to Simple Lives Thursday entertain you with their superior content. Soon I will have a post full of picture of Ellie and some resolutions for 2012. Until then...

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

1. 8 Steps to Reducing BPA Exposure for Your Child by Real Food Forager. Jill shares excellent information and resources about BPA and how to avoid it.

2. Buttermilk Ranch Dressing by Our Nourishing Roots. A lovely, delicious, simple ranch dressing recipe that will quickly replace your favorite jarred brand.

3. Make An Easy Bath Salt by Jo's Health Corner. An easy bath salt recipe -- so easy your kids can join you. It would make a lovely gift.

4. Cranberry Grapefruit Brunch Salad by Katy She Cooks. Katy shares a favorite refreshing holiday brunch salad recipe that she finds refreshing amid usual heavier holiday offerings.

My Week Away and Clementine Cranberry Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:13:00 +0000

On Monday night right before bed, I told my husband that my right breast was starting to hurt, feeling like it was bruised. I had been running around like a crazy person getting ready for the holidays and hauling Ellie along with me every step of the way, so we figured I must have just stressed myself out too much or hurt myself pumping or something. I tried to brush it off, but being afraid about the pain kept me up a lot of the night.
Tuesday morning, he went to work and I stayed home with baby. The pain was still there and I had a headache from failing to sleep well, so I canceled a day-trip I had scheduled for later that day, telling my would-be-companion that I thought I should take it easy just in case but didn't feel too bad. When I called the midwives, they thought it might be clogged duct and gave me some techniques to loosen it up. They asked me how I was feeling and I said I was just tired but didn't really feel sick. This was at 10:30 a.m.. The nurses told me that if it was a case of mastitis, an infection of the breast, that I would feel like I'd been hit by a truck. I told them that I didn't feel that way and hung up the phone. Two hours later, I called them back in tears because I was feeling so awful, telling them that I needed an antibiotic because I most certainly had mastitis and I was not dragging myself and my baby in to get them. I then called my husband and made him pick up my antibiotic and come take care of Ellie because I could barely take care of myself.
I haven't felt that sick in a long time. Within the hour and a half between my first and second calls to the midwives, my fever spiked to 100, my headache became debilitating, and my muscles were so sore that I could barely stand up. I didn't even need to look to know that I had the trademark red sploches that indicate a case of mastitis. Everything I ate made me nauseous and I had the chills, I still didn't feel warm wrapped up in a sweat suit under our down comforter. I was shocked at how bad things got and how quickly it escalated.
I was put on a 10 day round of antibiotics that I take 4 times a day. The nurses admonished me to be very careful about watching my symptoms and to go in if they hadn't gotten better within 48 hours because I would be at risk for developing an abscess which would require surgery.
Thankfully the antibiotics did their work and I've been feeling nearly normal for days now, and I was able to continue nursing throughout. If I hadn't known what mastitis was and looked like, I would have probably just thought I was sick and things could have been much worse.
This whole incident has reminded me what a privilege it is to be able to breastfeed my baby and that I need to take care of myself in order to take care of her. It's very easy for mothers, especially first time ones, to get entirely consumed by taking care of their little ones.
It also gave me the opportunity to step back and appreciate all the hard work I have had to put into maintaining a breastfeeding routine with my daughter. Some dyads are lucky enough to just pick up breastfeeding from the first latch without issue. This has not been the case with little Ellie and me
. We've had to work for the relationship we have, and it continues to ebb and flow. I know that without solid breastfeeding role models in my life (Vanessa! Maggie!) and a serious commitment to the process, I wouldn't be exclusively breastfeeding. It so true that what new moms need to be successful is lots of support and a committed family. I feel very lucky that my husband is extremely supportive and has done anything and everything to keep us breastfeeding, including informing himself (when I told him I forgot my pump once he said "Well, how good are you at hand expressing?) and taking care of me in any way so I can continue to feed her (I can't count the number of glasses of water he has brought to me, some at 4 a.m., just so I'm more comfortable when feeding her).
Breastfeeding is just as much a cultural/social issue as it is physical. This is why I'm choosing to write about my journey with it here, in the hopes that other mothers can see that while it's the most natural thing in the world, it requires constant commitment and dedication.
But boy, does it pay off. I have an excuse every 2-3 hours each day to sit down, snuggle my baby, and stare into her eyes. She has discovered her hands, so when she feeds she plays with my shirt or softly strokes my chest, fiddling with my necklace. It is the perfect bonding experience. Also thanks to breastfeeding, I managed to lose all of my pregnancy weight within the first two months. My body isn't the same as it used to be, but I'm off to a good start. Breastfeeding also reduces maternal rates of breast and cervical cancer. And plus, she's grown these cheeks:

More than worth it, right?
Since I posted here last, I've also done a ton of cooking and a little documentation of it. For Christmas, I baked a loaf of clementine cranberry bread. Winter is citrus season and clementines are everywhere. I just love them because they are tiny (cute) easy to peel, nearly seedless, fragrant, and delicious. Two years ago I used them with cranberries to make a deliciously tart marmalade. This year I had the idea to make a sweet quick bread with them, and it turns out chef Anne Burrell had the same idea but with oranges instead of clementines. I slightly modified her recipe and brought it to my husband's family Christmas where it was welcomed and quickly consumed.
I snapped Ellie into the Boba and got cookin'.

Clementine Cranberry Bread
modified from this recipe by Anne Burrell

2 cups a.p. flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick cold butter, diced
the zest of 2 clementines

Dice the cold butter into small pieces.

Add the cold butter to the flour, sugars, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse three to five times or until the mixture looks sandy.

Add the clementine zest. (Be sure to use organic if you can since you're using the peel.)

Juice the clementines with a reamer. Rolling your citrus on the counter first will get you more juice. I got 3/4 c. out of four clementines.

Section and chop your clementines.

Add the wet ingredients to your dry mix, pulsing just to combine.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and fold in the chopped clementines and cranberries.

Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

The bread will be moist and sweet and each bite should have a burst of fresh clementine or cranberry.

It was perfect with our Christmas brunch.

Are these not the cutest great grandparents you've ever seen?

Miss Ellie got three different first Christmas ornaments this year.

They found their place among our other favorite ornaments.

And I have done some relaxation therapy this week using a little Silk Nog and brandy.

All in all, we had a fantastic holiday in spite of the illness and some major fussiness from Ellie. (It turns out that she is very easily overstimulated and needs as much quiet as possible, or she'll scream for hours being unable to calm herself down. The only thing that we've found to consistently break her crying spurts is a bath, so I got to test out two foreign bathtubs this week.)

We're gearing up for a quiet new years and our second annual new year's brunch. I will certainly be making the cinnamon rolls again, and I can't wait to see what else my friends come up with this year.

I hope your holiday went well and you were surrounded by love and good food.

Hi!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:39:00 +0000

Hello there! I swear I am still alive. I will be back soon to tell you all about everything that has been going on and share a recipe, but until then, a teaser: it involves antibiotics (mine) a 2.5-hour-long screaming fit (Ellie's), and some clementines. To tide you over, here's a cute photo of my BFF reading Ellie the back of a pizza box, which put her right to sleep.

And one of her in a cute hat that is one of only two pieces of clothing I have ever had to buy her.

I've missed you and will talk to you soon!

Oil Cleansing Method and Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:40:00 +0000

Greetings!

Guess what? The semester is over. I am home until the first week in January. That makes me go like this:

I'm going to share a new way I've been cleaning my face these days. I started thinking today of just a few of the things that people don't tell you about pregnancy and childbirth:

Your hips might widen, and it might hurt, especially since you can only sleep on your sides.
While your hair and nails will be full and amazing during pregnancy, this will change when baby finally arrives, just when you've started getting used to it.
It is totally normal for your moles and freckles to change during pregnancy, so what would send you to the dermatologist for a check in your regular life is just a part of the process.
You can get back to your pre-pregnancy weight but still not fit into some of your clothes.
The hormones during pregnancy could make you break out like a teenager again.
Once your baby is born, your skin might be totally different than it was before and during pregnancy.

The final point is one that has hit home for me big time recently. I normally have very dry skin, but for some reason it's been normal to oily recently, which throws off my whole cleansing routine. I usually no-poo but I'd never tried making a daily cleanser for my face. I had read about the oil cleansing method (OCM) and decided this change in my skin type was a perfect time to give it a try. I've been very happy with the results and plan to keep it up so long as it keeps working so well.

This page is an excellent one for learning more about OCM and that blog is fantastic for homemade skin stuff in general.

Here's what I do:
Mix in your palm or in a bottle

One part cold pressed castor oil
Two parts sweet almond oil (I used this one)
One drop lavender essential oil (optional)

I rub this on my dry skin and use it to remove make-up. (It's the best way to remove makeup that I've found.)

After washing with the oil, I wipe it off well with a wet washcloth with very hot water. I follow up with a moisturizer or leave a little oil on my skin.

It's Simple Lives Thursday, so check out last week's featured posts and submit yours!

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

1. Start a Harvest Sharing Program by Food Farm Health. "Harvest sharing is the idea of linking up people with unwanted fruit trees or berry patches or even extra garden harvests with those who want of it via a fruit sharing organization. It is about rescuing and redistributing food." This blogger shares her tips for getting started.

2. Meat by clabbermouth. Raising animals for meat or by-product means making tough choices about animals you love. This meat had a wonderful life, and was cared for deeply and respectfully.

3. "Sugar" Cookie Cut-Outs (includes GF option) by The Nourishing Home. Just in time for Christmas. Sugar cookies sweetened with stevia and real maple syrup.

3. It's Not Too Late for a {Super-Frugal} Handmade Christmas! by RiddleLove. Simple, Frugal, Homemade. What's not to love!

On Geese and Seeing

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:17:00 +0000

Nearly every day, I plan something to write here. Despite how it may look, I in fact have much more to say than I have time to write. (This post by the talented and insightful Jennifer New rings so true, and the poem is perfect.) I still have plenty to share about food and eating, but since the baby entered my life, I've been thinking about much more.
Motherhood has been the most profound experience of my life. Returning to work after being home with my daughter for two months was a bizarre experience. In a way, it felt like I very easily slipped right back into the life I'd put on pause. But deep down, when I have quiet moments to think (which are rare) and reflect on what my life is and what I want it to be, I feel irrevocably changed. I feel like my brain is wired differently. By developing new skills like recognizing E's breathing patterns and anticipating her needs before they arise, I am slowly realizing that this mastery comes at a cost. I have always been the kind of person who wants to have it all, and insisted that I can and will do so. Having a baby hasn't so much changed this idea as forced me to reflect more seriously on the specifics of what that looks like in my life. It is teaching me that, for now, I have to let some things go. I can and will continue to cook the way that I do, and take pictures and write about it along the way, but I won't be able to post every thing I cook or think that is worth sharing. I will continue to journal to E a few times a week, but I will likely not find the time to complete a 365 project on Flickr like I've tried to for the last two years. I will continue to run because I love feeling fast, but I might not get to squeeze in those impromptu long runs when the mood strikes and the weather is good.
I don't write these things here to complain or as an excuse for posting less often, but in the hopes that you'll understand why I don't always have a meatless post up on Monday and I frankly don't feel too bad about it.
I see this realization as an empowering one, rather than letting it make me feel old or helpless. I used to get frustrated with my body when it didn't look the way I wanted to, or when it was stubbornly slow or weak. I took it for granted. It feels very different now that this body has created, carried, and birthed my child, and feeds her the only food she needs. This experience has allowed me to look at my body and myself from a place of understanding and appreciation. Instead of being so demanding and full of expectations, I'm trying to look at my situation for what it is, learning that I will see returns on the investments I make, but my stores are finite.
Writing in any form tends to make you feel that you need to document every last moment, rather than simply be there and enjoy it. I was reminded of this poem while walking to work this morning and watching honking geese pass overhead. Seeing the sun rise in the cold has made my early walks to work easy to enjoy. These geese, along with the melanic squirrels I pass each day, made an otherwise depressing Monday away from my sweet loved ones and warm bed much easier to bear.

Snow Geese

by Mary Oliver

Oh, to love what is lovely, and will not last!
What a task
to ask
of anything, or anyone,
yet it is ours,
and not by the century or the year, but by the hours.
One fall day I heard
above me, and above the sting of the wind, a sound
I did not know, and my look shot upward; it was
a flock of snow geese, winging it
faster than the ones we usually see,
and, being the color of snow, catching the sun
so they were, in part at least, golden. I
held my breath
as we do
sometimes
to stop time
when something wonderful
has touched us
as with a match,
which is lit, and bright,
but does not hurt
in the common way,
but delightfully,
as if delight
were the most serious thing
you ever felt.
The geese
flew on,
I have never seen them again.
Maybe I will, someday, somewhere.
Maybe I won't.
It doesn't matter.
What matters
is that, when I saw them,
I saw them
as through the veil, secretly, joyfully, clearly.

These days I'm just trying to enjoy seeing. So today (tonight) I'm writing what I feel like sharing.
First, this photo of my cousin's visit, and four generations of women in my family. (Are my mother and grandmother not radiant?!)

Me and this girl.

And brothers adoring her. (I swear this was not posed.)

Herculean tummy time.

This pot on the stove, simmering away, filled with clementine peel, cinnamon, and cloves. This is the smell of winter to me, thanks to my mother.

And our best Christmas tree yet.

Meatless Monday: Stuffed Squash

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:39:00 +0000

The little Miss turned 2 months old recently!

Yep, she's cute. She's been keeping me busy and it's been so much fun to watch her start to become aware of the world around her. Not at all surprisingly, she's a chatty little girl already and loves to coo and squawk at us. She has been such a trouper about the car rides and days away from home to see loved ones for the holidays.

The season of holiday get-togethers is upon us and eaters with special diets of any kind, be they meatless, gluten-free, or low sodium, are often an afterthought at the dinner table, relegated to plates full of sides. I wanted to make an easy meatless dish that would be seasonal, celebratory, beautiful, and delicious for your holiday table. Using ingredients I had on hand, I put together this entree that will make any diner feel special, and also happens to be entirely free of animal products.
I think it's terribly sad that bread stuffing is only eaten on Thanksgiving (turkey, I'm less upset about) because it's such a versatile dish that uses up lots of leftover bits to make something that's greater than the sum of its parts. Stuffing's underuse was my starting point for this meal along with the desire to start using the squash that I have stored in the basement.
I made this meal in two days because it was easier to break it up, roasting the squash on the first night while we ate dinner and doing the rest on the second night. You are welcome to use whatever bread you have on hand to make the croutons and any spices you have and love. I think sage is required for good stuffing, along with nuts, celery, and stock. The mushrooms make it extra hearty. Be sure to moisten the stuffing without getting it too wet. If you add just the right amount of stock, it will season everything and the croutons will be tender on the inside and just crispy and chewy on the edges.

Stuffed Squash
Serves two, 1/2 squash per person

1 sweet dumpling or acorn squash
4 slices potato bread, cubed
1 tbsp. dried majoram
1 tbsp. dried chives
1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or make your own)
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
8-10 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp. dried sage
1/2 c. pecans
1/4-1/2 c. vegetable stock
olive oil
salt and pepper

Begin by steaming your squash in the oven. Slice in half, scrape out the seeds, and place cut side down on a baking sheet with 1 in. of water. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until a knife slides in easily.

In a dry pan, toast your pecans over low heat for 2-3 minutes or until you smell them. Cool and chop.

While your squash is baking (or the next day while you're assembling the rest of the stuffing) make the croutons. Slice your bread into 1 inch cubes and coat with olive oil and the marjoram, chives, and seasoned salt.

Cook at 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until your bread is dried out and a little crunchy, but not hard. You can easily use old bread for this.

While your croutons are baking, add the onion to a pan coated with olive oil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Let the onions soften for a minute or two and then add the celery.

Once the onions are translucent and the celery is bright green and starting to soften (another 3-5 minutes) add the mushrooms and continue to cook.

Keep cooking until everything had broken down and is soft.

Mix in your croutons and pecans, crumble in the sage, and add enough stock for the mix to be moist but not wet. Give it a taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Stuff the mix into the cavity of the squash. Put any extra stuffing in a baking dish.

Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until the edges of the croutons are crispy and brown. We ate ours with the Anchor Steam holiday beer.

The pecans should still have good crunch, the mushrooms should be savory and rich, and the croutons should have just a little chew. The herbs round out all the vegetable flavors and the creamy squash hold everything together.

Give this a try at your next celebration, or just your normal Monday night. I think you'll like it!

Homemade and Handmade Holiday Gifts and Simple Lives Thursady

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:20:00 +0000

This week I returned to work. In short, it hasn't been as bad as I expected it to be. The last full day that I was home with little E was heart wrenching. Every time she'd smile at me I'd turn into a blubbering mess, lamenting that I wouldn't be seeing that sweet smile or hearing that little coo every morning like I'd gotten so used to. But each day since that one has been easier, since I allowed myself to have my day of feeling bad and then decided to move on and deal with the reality of my situation. I also returned to work at the busiest time of the semester, and a day filled with teaching, testing, pumping, feeding, and meetings has made it so I hardly have time to feed myself, let alone mope about missing my girl.
Another big responsibility keeping me busy this time of year is holiday preparation. Each year I do my best to make my own gifts or buy handmade goods whenever I can. Here are some of my favorite homemade and handmade gifts that should satisfy everyone on your list.
My homemade apple butter

and cranberry clementine marmalade

This hot pepper jam would be easy to make with frozen fruit.

Who wouldn't love a loaf of banana bread? I love to include the recipe when I give edible gifts.

Easy recycled candles in vintage teacups. (My photo, Martha's instructions.)

If you're not super crafty yourself but want to give something handmade, you should check out Heartsy, a daily email service in the spirit of Groupon for Etsy. (Disclaimer: if you sign up for Heartsy through the above and image link and purchase something, I will receive a small credit toward my Heartsy account.)

And of course, you would be the apple of your gift-recepient's eye if you give them some Rosie's Best granola.

If you're still short on inspiration, check out the contributions of bloggers from all over the web in our blog hop, Simple Lives Thursday, and please feel free to link up your own ideas!

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

1. Why I Don't Participate in Black Friday by The Local Cook. "It’s started. The TV and radio and internet advertisements; emails telling me about all the money I could make by promoting Black Friday specials on my website; deal bloggers sharing strategies for planning your attack with the precision of an Army general. Yuck."

2. A Cure for Hot Flashes by Ruth's Real Food. Can something as simple as food cure hot flashes? Be sure to read the notes on this blog post about what actually causes them in the first place.

3. Go Stuff Yourself by Your Thriving Family. "Well, its finally the day. Turkey Day! No! Today is Thanksgiving. Not a day for eating till you can't move and fighting with the family. But to Give Thanks. To GIVE."

Post-Thanksgiving Easy Supper: Grilled Cheese with Apples and Tomato Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:46:00 +0000

I hope this post finds you enjoying the return to normal life after a long weekend full of gluttony

I can't lie; Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Other than signaling the full swing into Christmas season (cookies!) Thanksgiving ranks among my favorites for being a holiday based around cooking, eating, family, and gratitude. (Have you ever seen this wonderful blog?)

At this year's get-together, there were two adorable babies, one being miss Eleanor in her special outfit.

(You get bonus points if you recognize the blanket she's on.)
The official day had an abundance of great food, including Mom's homemade rolls and this gratin that I made using celery root and apples. (It was delicious.)

The night before we had a friends-giving where a friend roasted a turkey and we brought dessert. I'm wearing little Ellie who was a champ and slept through dinner.

Like so many of you, we were totally fed up with rich food, so tonight the husband and I dined on grilled cheese and tomato soup. We made it our way, though, with tomatoes from the garden, local garlic and onions, potato bread from the Coop, extra sharp cheddar cheese, and local apples. It came together in 15 minutes (we used this basic recipe but didn't add any dairy.) and was exactly what we wanted.

The first taste of tomatoes from the garden helped ease the pain of returning to work. Today was my first day back and I've missed her like crazy, so now I'm going to go cuddle her to sleep.
Speaking of whom, Ellie has discovered her tongue.

How was your Thanksgiving? See you Thursday!

Pre-Baby Hot Pepper Raspberry Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Dear Miss Eleanor,

Before you were born, we had a nice long pre-baby weekend.

We made big breakfasts, ate doughnuts, went to farmer's market, and planted bulbs.

The day before you were born, I looked like this:

And I made this jam with the last of the fall fruit:

Hot Pepper Raspberry Jam

4 c. raspberries

1 large red bell pepper

4 jalapeños

8 c. sugar

Put all your fruit and crushed berries in a pot with a heavy bottom.

Bring to a boil.

Add all your sugar at once.

Return to a boil for one solid minute.

Ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes.

Someday, baby girl, I'll let you try this stuff. It's great with soft cheese and crackers.
<3 Mom

Iowa Valley Food Cooperative Order and Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Greetings!
I'm trying to enjoy the little bit of my maternity leave that is left (sob) by playing around with Ellie and getting absolutely nothing else done.
Except a little baking. Yesterday I baked another loaf of Grandma Ann's banana bread but added chocolate chips and a streusel topping.

It was good.

Yesterday I dropped off some granola to the Iowa Valley Food Cooperative and picked up my own order for November. I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you the kinds of products available through the coop, all of which are local.

We got a 1/2 lb. of different kinds of garlic for $4.

2 lbs. of sweet potatoes for $3.20. (You've watched this, right?)

Celery root from Grinnell for $3/lb.

Amazing grass fed beef from Ebersole Cattle Co for $6/lb. I also had the pleasure of running into Shanen when I dropped my orders off and we had a nice little chat while she fussed over Ellie. There's just something comforting about knowing and liking the people who grow your food.

Fresh local spinach for $3, which will be great well into the winter.

Eggs for $3.25 from Rapid Creek Ranch

And leeks for $2.50

Total including the 10% coop fee: $27.45. This produce will last us through the month and will inspire lots of healthy meals.
If you'd like to know more or sign up for the Cooperative, click here and check it out.
FInally, it's Simple Lives Thursday! Have a look at the featured posts from last week and check out this week's submissions.

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

We really enjoy reading your posts each week! Featured post bloggers, please grab the badge above and display it on your site! Link it to one of the host blogs' posts for the specific week that you were featured.

Here are our picks from last week's submissions. Thanks to all who participated -- it is always hard to choose!

1. I Don't Like Digging Carrots by Prairie Sunrise Homestead. Marg shares why she's digging up her carrots in November, and who is interestedly watching.

2. 7 Ways to Reduce Corporate Influence in Our Lives by Frugally Sustainable. This blogger finds practical and simple ways to reduce consumerism and still have quality of life. Read how.

3. In Which I Wonder: Are You Kidding Me? by Auburn Meadow Farm. “If you can’t stand the knowledge, then you shouldn’t buy it or eat it.” (Photo credit: Daily Journal, Kankakee, Michigan)

Meatless Monday: Spicy Vegan Coconut Carrot Soup with Ginger

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Since we all turned our clocks back last week, the days have started feeling shorter and shorter, and we're spending more time indoors, huddled in from the cold darkness that falls so early each afternoon. This marks the beginning of soup season. Normally we think of soups and stews as being brothy or cream based, and generally very salty and savory. For this week, I wanted to make use of the Eastern notion that spicy food helps warm the body and made an easy soup to eat all week.

I combined ingredients that I always keep in the pantry (all the spices and the coconut milk) with the last of the seasonal produce (the carrots and jalapenos) to make this rich and comforting soup. The jalapenos give a nice kick while the coconut milk makes it smooth and satisfying.

I decided to add extra texture to the soup because I dislike overly processed creamy soups that taste like baby food. I found some unsweetened dry flake coconut and carrot chips (locals, these came from Stringtown and they are delicious) to add extra crunch and flavor.

Spicy Vegan Coconut Carrot Soup with Ginger
2-3 lbs carrots, roughly chopped
3 small yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1-2 jalapenos, to taste, diced (optional)
1 can coconut milk (shake before using)
1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1-2 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 c. beer, stock, or water
2-4 tbsp. oil

Start with your carrots. Peel or scrub them well and chop roughly. These carrots are half from the Iowa Valley Food Coop and half from our garden. We grew the squat Parisienne carrots and were really happy with the flavor.

Chop your onions, mince your garlic and ginger.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot with a heavy bottom and add your onions. Season well with salt and pepper.

Once the onions are lightly browned and starting to become translucent, add the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. (We used 2 and it was quite spicy. If you don't like things very spicy, add fewer chilies or omit them completely. Your curry powder may have some heat itself.)

Stir these constantly until you start to smell the garlic, 1-2 minutes. Do not allow the garlic to burn or it will become bitter. Then, add your curry powder and carrots. Again season with salt and pepper. Stir and continue cooking over medium heat to help the carrots start to soften and the curry powder to cook. (Raw curry powder has a very chalky taste, so you must cook it a bit before adding your liquid.)
While you're cooking, you might see the curry powder start to stick to the bottom of the pan. This is fine, but do not let it burn. If it starts to brown too much, add a little of your liquid. We used this beer, thinking the coriander might taste good with the other seasonings. Once your carrots are soft, add your liquid.

Stir. This should be pretty and smell really good. Scrape the bottom to get all the good stuff.

Cook in the liquid until the carrots are soft but not cooked to your liking, around 5 more minutes.

Grab your coconut milk.

Pour it in and stir. You might need to add an extra 1/2 c. of liquid to thin it out, depending on how much liquid you lost when you cooked the carrots. Bring this to a low simmer and cook until the carrots are cooked to your liking and the flavors have mixed. For us, this was another 15-20 minutes at very low.

Use your stick blender to process this as much as you'd like. I prefer chunks of carrots, so I only did it for a few minutes.
Serve hot and garnish with the carrot chips and flake coconut.

It's even better the next day.

Go make some soup and warm your belly!

edited to add: a picture of miss Eleanor loungin' for Sarah

Why I DIY, Homemade Baby Powder, and Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:44:00 +0000

Greetings!

I've been busy busy trying to squeeze a little work around the house in while this little girl naps.

Today I want to tell you why I spend the time and effort making my own household products where I can.

I've talked a lot on this blog about some of the things I make for myself instead of buying at the store. Including:

There are a few reasons that I choose to make these things for myself instead of buying them.

Cost. In general, these things are significantly cheaper than their store-bought counterparts. They are made with inexpensive basic ingredients like vinegar and baking soda which are very reasonably priced, especially when purchased in bulk. Some ingredients like the essentials oils cost more up front but have a very low price-per-use. And of course, you save the fuel cost of going to the store.
Quality. Each of the above products functions as well or better than the best store-bought versions. The vinegar cleaner, for example, will remove wallpaper adhesive. Wallpaper adhesive!
Convenience. This is a major reason we make our own baby wipes, and one of the main reasons we love cloth diapering. There are no midnight runs to the grocery store so long as we keep the basic materials well stocked.
Waste. One of the largest sources of household waste is packaging. By making our own, we've kept hundreds of plastic bottles and paper boxes from being made. We reuse what we can and recycle anything we have to buy in a package.
Safety. This has always been a major motivating factor in deciding to make a lot of things myself, and its importance has only increased since having our little one. I'm comforted knowing that she could get into the cleaning cabinet and its contents wouldn't harm her skin, lungs, or stomach. (I guess if she drank some castile soap we might be in trouble though ;) )

On the topic of safety, I'd like to talk about the DIY I'm going to share with you today. Every child needs some sort of powder from time to time to keep their diaper area clean and dry. We looked into the available baby powders and discovered that the majority of them were based on talc (aka talcum powder.) which I had heard negative things about but hadn't taken the opportunity to fully research since we weren't using any products containing it. A simple search taught us the problem with talc and why it isn't suitable for our baby or ourselves. From the Cancer Prevention Coalition:

"The common household hazard posed by talc is inhalation of baby powder by infants. Since the early 1980s, records show that several thousand infants each year have died or become seriously ill following accidental inhalation of baby powder."

Here is a PDF of an article about talc inhalation, specifically as it relates to infants.

It is frustrating that this product is still widely available on the shelves of any store, and used on children everywhere. Once we read this, we started looking for alternatives. Many baby powders are made with corn starch instead of talc, but the pre-made powders are more expensive than plain cornstarch, and often contain fragrance, another potentially harmful ingredient. (The label 'fragrance' can often mean that the product includes phthalates.)

We decided that we'd make our own baby powder and store it in a small jar with a perforated lid for ease of use. We wanted a nice smell to go with the corn starch so we used a few drops of our favorite essential oil, lavender.

My favorite essential oils come from AuraCacia. I love this company because it's local and it's a cooperative. These four are our favorite and most used essential oils. From left to right, we use the rose and lavender oils for body care products and laundry. The lavender goes into our baths, a body spray I make myself, and onto the wet bag that collects Ellie's smelly diapers.

We use the peppermint for anything we want to be invigorating like a facial spray for hot days or boiling water we inhale when we're stuffy.

The lemon eucalyptus smells fresh and clean and we always use it in our mop water.

(LOCALS! If you're a member of New Pioneer Cooperative, you get an extra 10% off all health and beauty products on the first Tuesday of every month. This includes these oils, so give them a try!)

We thought lavender would be perfect for the baby powder, so we grabbed it and a simple glass cheese shaker like this..

This cornstarch container made it easy to add the essential oils directly to it and shake to combine them. We filled the small shaker and had plenty for refills later. To this 16 oz. container of cornstarch, we added 15-20 drops of essential oil.

We used a quick paper funnel to get the mix into the shaker. Be sure to use a spoon. Don't try to pour it in there directly from the container, ok?

Just don't. I warned you.

Voila: homemade safe baby powder for pennies.

Obviously corn starch is not good for babies to inhale either since it will dry their lungs out and make them cough, so when you use this try your best not to get it in the air.

Finally, it's Simple Lives Thursday! I hope you've had fun browsing the submissions each week. I have to blush because the other hosts chose my post from last week about homemade baby wipes as a featured post this week. Thanks ladies! I'm blushing here :)

Won't you check out the other featured posts and submit something yourself?

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

We really enjoy reading your posts each week! Featured post bloggers, please grab the badge above and display it on your site! Link it to one of the host blogs' posts for the specific week that you were featured.

Here are our picks from last week's submissions. Thanks to all who participated -- it is always hard to choose!

1. How To Enjoy Eating Outdoors by Urban Pioneer Story. Jeanette shares her tricks for making eating outdoors work well and more importantly, be enjoyable for all.

2. Hand Sanitizer: Good or Bad? by The Holistic Mama. Before you blindly apply hand sanitizer this winter read this thought –provoking entry by Holistic Mama.

3. Homemade Baby Wipes by Culinary Bliss. In the first month of new motherhood, Alicia manages to tackle eliminating chemical-laden wipes from her household. Hats off Alicia! We hope you are managing to sleep, too!

Mindfully Meatless: Grandma Ann's Banana Bread My Way

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:20:00 +0000

Greetings! Another weekend has just blown by and it's Monday again. Today I have a family recipe for a quick banana bread that I've modified to fit into my style of cooking and eating and I'm excited to share it with you.
My Grandma Ann is a matriarch in the truest sense of the word. My mother's side of the family is large, given that she is one of ten children, each of whom have gone on to have many children of their own. Grandma Ann has been my lone grandparent for the greater part of my conscious life and is well known to be a fantastic cook. She taught her daughters how to bake, and all of them and their female children get together each winter and bake huge amounts of Christmas cookies. In this picture, I'm in the back with long hair and I have my arm around Grandma.

Every grandchild has a favorite baked good that she makes, mine being her Aunt Irene's oatmeal cookies, and one popular choice is her banana bread. When she told me the recipe was dead easy and was kind enough to share it with me, I thought I'd pass it on to all of you so you never have to let bananas go bad on the counter again. (Of course, you should have been throwing them in the freezer for banana soft serve, but this is even better.)

This is a quick bread, which means the leavening comes from baking soda rather than yeast. It also means it offers instant gratification and would be fun to do with kids. Grandma's recipe included a full cup of sugar, white flour, and oleo. I decided to swap honey and maple syrup for the sugar and halve the amount, use white whole wheat flour, and use butter instead of the shortening. My bread still has a strong banana flavor and is very moist, but is a bit better for you than the traditional version.

Quick Banana Bread

2 ripe bananas (they should have brown spots on the outside and be soft)
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 stick butter, melted

Put the peeled bananas in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment. If you don't have a mixer, just mash the bananas in a bowl.

Start the mixer and mash the bananas.

Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry pan. Do NOT leave them there and feed the baby, or you will waste them all.

Add your maple syrup and honey to the banana.

Then add your eggs, being sure to crack them into a separate container first so you don't get any shell pieces in your batter. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each one.

Add the melted butter.
Mix in the flour.

Soda, and salt.

And add the almonds since you burnt the pecans.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, or once a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

This is best served the next day at room temperature.

I hope you enjoy this quick bread and take the opportunity to throw it together. Your minimal effort will be rewarded!
And god forbid I write a post without any pictures of the baby, here she is in a staring contest with the dog.

and SMILING! For REAL!

Chili and Cornbread in a Jar, and Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Greetings all!
I've still barely managed to get any cooking done, but thanks to my dear sweet friend Tracy I was able to throw together a hot meal that was blog-worthy with very little effort.
Tracy, like a lot of awesome people, brought us a bunch of meals that can sit in the freezer until we're too busy to feed ourselves. She rightly guessed that we'd gotten a lot of food when Ellie was first born but that we had probably eaten it all already and were in need of more. Tracy brought lots of soups, including chili, so I decided I'd make individual meals in a jar by combining her chili with a cornbread recipe and baking it all in the oven.
Everything came together in less than half an hour and was totally delicious. This is an easy way to make normal dinner a little extra special, and it'd be great for giving gifts or taking meals on the go.

I used wide mouth jars because they're easier to work with.

Chili and Cornbread in a Jar

start with 1.5 c. of your favorite chili recipe per serving

cornbread (makes 4 servings)
1 c. cornmeal
1 c. unbleached all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. honey
4 tsp. melted butter
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl. If you'd like, add some dried jalapeños and herbs.

In another bowl combine your wet ingredients. Be sure you cool the butter before you add it so you don't risk cooking the eggs.

Combine wet and dry.

Take your chili.

And ladle it into your jars.

Add a couple ice cream scoops (probably totaled 1/3 c.) of the dough on top of the chili.

I baked the jars on a sheet pan just in case any of the dough bubbled over the sides.

Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes or until the chili is bubbly and the cornbread is brown.

Best eaten straight out of the jar. A drizzle of honey wouldn't hurt!

Also, it's Thursday, so I have some great Simple Lives stuff for you to read.

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

We really enjoy reading your posts each week! Featured post bloggers, please grab the badge above and display it on your site! Link it to one of the host blogs' posts for the specific week that you were featured.

Here are our picks from last week's submissions. Thanks to all who participated -- it is always hard to choose!

1. Top 5 Easy Homemade Cheeses by The Crunchy Chicken. You don’t need special cultures to dabble in the world of cheesemaking. This blogger shares her top five easy cheeses you can make right now.

2. Raspberry Leaf by a Traditional Foods. Raspberry leaf is an important medicinal herb – and yours for the saving right now. Check out these steps for preserving some raspberry leaf for your medicine chest.

3. Making Soap Without Lye by Moss Grown Stone. This blogger shares how she makes soap from ready made soap bases (no lye required). Her soap gets rid of strong smells like onions, garlic... and buck (goat).

First Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:59:00 +0000

I'm a terrible blogger, but I swear I've been making up for it by being a really awesome mom. I've been soaking up the fun with little E and have been eating boring recipe-less food like my macaroni and cheese all week.

So, to tide you over until I can get some real content for you, here are some cute pictures of the baby.

Happy Halloween everybody!

28, Homemade Baby Wipes, and Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Today, I turn 28 years old.
Last year on my birthday I posted about starting my business, Rosie's Best. Sitting down to write that post, I realized that I'd managed to do something really big every year for the past few, starting with getting my MA and getting married in 2007, buying a home in 2008, adopting my dog in 2009, and then starting Rosie's Best in 2010.
As you know, my life has not exactly slowed down, and 2011 is the year that I became a mother.

One of these years, I'm going to take a break.

Easier said than done, right? I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off, because I'm just having too much fun squeezing this much into this short life.

One thing that I was advised *not* to do, in the interest of making my life simpler, was to cloth diaper my baby for the first month of her life. Everyone told me I'd be in a total fog and wouldn't have any interest or patience for dealing with cloth diapers at this hectic time. I'm glad I ignored this advice, went with my gut, and bought a handful of Green Mountain prefolds and Thirsties covers and got started once the meconium had passed. It has been much easier than I thought it might be, and we've saved a ton of money and trips to the grocery store (not to mention garbage!) since Ellie has a habit of dirtying a diaper moments after I put it on her.

We had been using regular wipes, but after buying our fourth package in less than a month, I decided it was time to try making my own cloth wipes.

Luckily I had just inherited a serger, which made the whole process faster and easier. (You can still do this with a regular sewing machine, just use a zig-zag stitch.)

I just used a regular wipe as my pattern and cut two pieces for each wipe out of old t-shirts. You can use darker colors if you're worried about stains, but sun bleaching really works for cloth diapers and wipes. I just serged around each edge.

I think I sewed around 20 for our regular stash.

Then I figured out how to fold the so the come out of the dispenser like regular wipes.
Start like so, with one wipe half overlapping another on the long side.

Fold one up half way.

Place another wipe on top.

Repeat until you come to the top of the stack.

Tada!

Next you'll have to make a wipe solution. You could easily just use plain water, but most people add a little soap to help it clean better and something to make the wipes softer on babies skin. Most people use oils for the latter purpose, but since I'm using cloth diapers I wanted to avoid adding oils since they make the diapers less absorbent. So I used warm water that I boiled and then cooled, a squirt of glycerin, and a squirt of her baby soap from California Baby. I soaked the stack of wipes and then squeezed out most of the extra liquid, reserving it in a bottle to put on them after I wash. (You should plan to make new solution every week or so, and keep an eye on your wet wipes for any mold or bad smell. Alternatively you could keep the wipes dry and just wet them before use.)
Here's a great list of lots of different solution recipes.
We used the same old wipe container and are loving it.
These wipes smell better, cost next to nothing, and go right in the wash with our cloth diapers.

Finally, it's Simple Lives Thursday! As usual, there are a bunch of great posts in the spirit of consuming less and producing more. Won't you have a look around and consider sharing a post?

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

We really enjoy reading your posts each week! Featured post bloggers, please grab the badge above and display it on your site! Link it to one of the host blogs' posts for the specific week that you were featured.

Here are our picks from last week's submissions. Thanks to all who participated -- it is always hard to choose!

1. How I Learned To Let Go Of Fear by The Stockpot. "Now that my children aren't infants anymore, I needed to get out of the "Helicopter Parent" mindset (hovering over the children constantly, over-parenting) and start letting my children and me gain a bit of independence. And so began my journey of letting go of my fear."

2. My Helper by a number of things. "Lilly is one of those children that kind hearted people stare at, smile and say, 'Wow. She sure is a busy one!' Ha. The more I think about it, the more "busy" really does seem to be the right word (and so much nicer than a few others that might apply). She gets into positively everything, and keeping her "busy" is sometimes the only way we can all stay remotely sane."

3. Hard Cider: Part 1 by An Austin Homestead Moved West. "On Tuesday, iIwhipped up a small batch of 'starter' that I used the next day to start some hard cider and get my vinegar going a little more quickly. I'm worried that our apartment is going to be just too cold for fermentation, but I'm not paying a higher electricity bill just to get some hooch and vinegar."

Meatless Busy Mama's Fried Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:23:00 +0000

Hello! Long time no see!
I hope you have been well in the time I've been away taking care of baby girl. First, I need to give another shout-out and huge gratitude to my guest bloggers, Lindsay, Branny, Erin, and Christine. I am so thankful for the time off (I have enjoyed being away from the computer almost too much) and the content they delivered was fantastic, in my opinion. I hope that you all checked out their blogs and don't be surprised if you see one of their recipes pop up on here sometime soon!
While they were doing all the hard work for me, I was taking care of this little peanut, who is already much bigger than she was when she was born three weeks ago.

It has been a lot of work being this girl's full time milk machine, but I have so loved getting to know her, and my husband as a daddy. We are enjoying every minute of it, even the fussy, middle of the night, every hour feedings. When you have a newborn, everyone tells you how tough it's going to be, preparing you for the worst I suppose. We've done our best to take each moment as it comes and to treat each other with kindness and understanding, and the three of us are feeling great.

We have been lucky enough to have lots of friends and family bring us delicious and nutritious meals during the last few weeks, but I've also been itching to cook again since it makes me feel good. So, last night we threw together a quick pot of fried rice and topped it with fried eggs.

Busy Mama's Fried Rice
makes enough to serve 4 as a main dish

2 handfuls (approx 1-1.5 cups) crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced,
3 cloves garlic
1 chili (we used jalapeño)
3 carrots, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 head bok choy, chopped
1.5-2 c. leftover cooked rice
4+4 eggs
1/2 c. prepared mu-shu sauce
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. stock
1/4 c. vinegar (white wine or rice wine is best)
generous dose of freshly ground black pepper

Begin by prepping all your veggies (or having your partner prep them while you hold the baby)
We did the garlic and chili in the mortar and pestle.

Heat some vegetable oil in the bottom of a large pan or dutch oven over medium high heat.
Add the garlic and chili and stir, being sure the garlic doesn't burn. Cook for just a few seconds. Then add all the vegetables except the mushrooms. Cook in the oil until the carrots are slightly softened and the onions are translucent, 3-5 minutes.
Then, add the liquids and the mushrooms and turn up your heat until the liquid simmers. Reduce until it's almost as thick as you'd like it to be, another 3-5 minutes. Then add your rice, stir to combine and just warm up the rice.
While your vegetables are cooking, in a separate pan, take four of the eggs and beat them with a little milk or water and salt and pepper. Scramble them in a bit of butter, remove from the pan, and chop into small pieces. Add to the rice after removing it from heat.
Finally, fry up one egg per person and top the rice. (Here's how I fry an egg, but now I use cast iron instead of non-stick.)

Keep the yolk runny if you can!

I have a fussy baby to attend to, but know that I've missed you and am very glad to be back to posting! Have a great week!

Guest Post: Lindsay's No-Knead Bread and Simple Lives Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia Ambler) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Hello, friends! I’m Lindsay, the voice behind Life and Kitchen, and I’m pumped that Alicia went and had a baby (hi, Eleanor!) because that means that I get a chance to share Jim Lahey's no-knead bread recipe with you. And let’s be honest: the first year of motherhood can use a break from kneading. I just finished up the first year of life with my daughter and it was beyond anything I could have imagined (both joyfulness and sleepiness!). I started Life and Kitchen just about two years ago as a diary of sorts to chronicle, well, my life and kitchen. Feel free to stop by and check out the adventures that I’ve been lucky enough to experience.

I’ve made this bread a few times in the past, and it has always worked out well. Until, of course, this past week when I promised Alicia that I would write a blog post and experienced dead yeast (that sounds so gruesome), a too-cold kitchen, and – uhhh – forgetting that the bread is done rising. Did I mention that I have a one-year-old? She’s a bit distracting. But fear not! 9 cups of wasted flour later, I finally made a delicious, warm loaf of bread. I can assure you that this bread really isn’t as difficult as I made it! I’m looking forward to trying the speedy no-knead bread, too. That one takes less time, but this one is nice because you can prep it right before bed and have it for dinner the next day. It does most of the rising while you’re at work – how convenient!

No-Knead Bread

3 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1 ½ - 1 5/8 cups lukewarm water

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Add another 1-2 tablespoons water if necessary. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours,
preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (I used a dutch oven) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Source: Mark Bittman, originally from Jim Lahey

Featured Posts from Last Week's Submissions

We really enjoy reading your posts each week! Featured post bloggers, please grab the badge above and display it on your site! Link it to one of the host blogs' posts for the specific week that you were featured.

Here are our picks from last week's submissions. Thanks to all who participated -- it is always hard to choose!

1. Coconut Cream Chocolate Fudge by The Coconut Mama. "I love fudge. But this, this is different than any fudge I’ve ever had. It's like eating a dense fudgy brownie." We're game!

2. Welcome Fall With Edible Decorations by Green Backs Gal. "Being frugal and green I also like my Fall Decorations to be natural and practical, so I’ve decorated with edible decorations!" Sounds good to us!

3. Learning to Make Milk Kefir by Butter Believer. "Delicious dairy cultured with these curious little clusters of “grains” I kept hearing about -- I had been dying to get my hands on some for quite a while. This is a must-make staple of a Real Foods diet." We agree!